LynnW73

Best of luck Slawka. Hope you get something. I'm hoping to get away from offshore but if I absolutely have to I will do that in Australia. I'm going to start the application process in January so hopefully things will be picking up a bit by then. I'll do the same as you until I get something more related to my qualifications. Hope the move is stress free. Keep me in mind if you have contacts Could always do with more of those lol

Thought that would probably be the case. I guess I'll just have to take my chances. Finances are still building just now so maybe by the time I get away, the oil price will have increased again. Just trying to gauge when to start the application process. I'll look into some other avenues till then. Thanks for the info

Hi, I've been working as a chemist in the oil and gas industry for the last 20 years, mostly offshore and I am wondering if the industry is having the same downturn that we are seeing in the North Sea or are there jobs going? I am hoping that I won't have to work offshore when I finally get my visa for Australia. I can get into the country with my profession without having a job first but just wondering if anyone has any information on the job market. I'd hopefully be looking to get something in onshore support as a production chemist with the experience I have but will be looking to expand my skill base through my company with the time I have left in the UK. Any help would be much appreciated, L

Now that sounds a lot better than £2000. I've a lot to think about when I get home from work. Not able to spend as much time on this stuff as I'd like here but plenty of time when I get home. Thanks for that info. it never crossed my mind to get someone to do that.

Thanks so much to everyone for your advice. I have enough money in the bank now to start the application process so I think I might just bite the bullet and get on with it. Since it'll take a while to get everything in place and from what I remember you get a year to make the move, I can have enough saved to live fairly frugally till I have money coming in. I'm 41 and single so wouldn't need to have somewhere large to begin with but who wouldn't like a large house with a pool and garden right off I've been sending out some inMails to my contacts in Australia today and I know some people who have worked all over the world who may know someone. The oil and gas industry can sometimes be about who you know rather than what you know. I certainly have gotten a couple of jobs because I know someone within the company but I am also awesome so that helped lol

Thanks for that info I'll get in touch with those guys re the work situation. I've been working on the rigs for years and hoping to get something land based but still in the industry (no point wasting all the experience I have). I tried to estimate what I would need from various sites and got around £24G for 6 months (minus the car) so I guess I need to rethink my living expenses lol. It's all academic right now till I get the visa process started and see where I'm going but it will either be WA or Victoria from the assessment I got. Unless I bag a job elsewhere. Thanks for the advice

I've had a visa assessment with 2 different MARA registered agents. The assessment said Skilled State nominated visa(subclass 190). I work in the oil and gas industry as a chemist. I'm just trying to work out how long it's going to take me to save the finances and I guess when would be best to begin the application process as I can obviously still be saving while that process is ongoing. I have enough now for the visa, but I wondered how much I would need should I move without work in place to make sure I have enough to support myself for a significant amount of time while job hunting.

Thanks for your reply Jac. loads to think about.

Thanks again for your advice. I went back to BobinOz's site after I posted that question and it seems the company I spoke with are actually giving quite a good deal for what they do. I also have a friend here in Glasgow who applied for a visa to NZ and did it all herself so I'll pick her brain as well and see if I have the patience to do it all properly myself from there. Glad I found this site. The only thing now is that I'm impatient to get started and start my new life since it's not longer just a pipe dream.

Great, thanks for the quick response. I'm also wondering whether to get help with the visa application but not keen on spending a couple of grand to get it.

Afternoon all, I'm finally in a postion where I can get some cash away so that I can start the visa application process later on this year. I was wondering if someone could tell me what they would recommend the minumum amount of cash I would need to support myself on arrival. Not including visa costs. I have that set aside now. How much would those of you who have made the move already recommend I have in the bank? I'm going on my own and have no preconceived ideas of moving to Australia and right into a giant house with a massive garden and a pool. I realise that this will vary depending on which state I settle in and location there but just a ball park figure is good so I know what to aim for. Any advice would be great. Thanks, Lynn